Hand-actuated trigger sprayers are known. Some commercially-available trigger sprayers include a spray head assembly having a sprayer housing, a discharge nozzle, a pump mechanism, and a trigger or lever. The spray head assembly is typically removably connected to a single fluid container or bottle. A rigid rubber tube extends from the fluid container to the pump mechanism in the spray head assembly. Actuation of the trigger draws fluid from the container and discharges (sprays) the fluid through the nozzle. Some of these trigger sprayers can limit or control the amount and/or direction of the spray through the nozzle by screwing the nozzle into or out of the housing.
Examples of such a trigger sprayer are shown in Bundschuh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,444; Tada, U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,206; Schneider, U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,228; Steynes, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,252; Buras, U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,222; Saito, U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,861; Sorm, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,969; Micalief, U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,290; Micalief, U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,052; Tada, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,821; Tada, U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,203; Corsette, U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,413; and Saito, U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,751.
While single-container trigger sprayers have had wide-spread acceptance in the consumer market, it is generally not possible to easily modify or alter the concentrate of the fluid in the container during use. That is, the concentrate comes premixed in a manufacturer-specified ratio. The user cannot otherwise change or alter the concentrate ratio for different applications without the burden of removing the sprayer housing and adding additional fluid directly into the container.
Multiple-container, hand-held trigger sprayers have also been developed which can selectively dispense two or more different fluids in user-selected ratios. In these types of trigger sprayers, a different fluid is located within each container, for example, soap concentrate in one container and water in another container. A tube or pipe extends into each container, and a mixing chamber is provided for mixing the fluids. Actuation of the trigger draws fluid from the containers for mixing in the mixing chamber and for discharge through the nozzle. A fluid ratioing device allows the user to control the fluid drawn from at least one of the containers. The user can thereby select the amount of concentrate for a particular application (for example, one ratio for windows, and another ratio for countertops) simply by setting the ratioing device appropriately.
Examples of multiple-container trigger sprayers include Metzler III, U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,963; Vierkotter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,739; Lawrence, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,342; Gardner, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,431; and Proctor, U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,461.
Although the multiple-container trigger sprayers described above provide certain benefits in being able to control the ratio of different fluids dispensed from the containers, these trigger sprayers are not without drawbacks. For example, some of these trigger sprayers include complex valve assemblies and housing structures which increase the overall cost of the trigger sprayer. The containers or bottles for these sprayers can also have designs which are cumbersome or difficult to grasp and use.
In any case, there is a demand in the industry for improved hand-held trigger sprayers, and in particular, for an inexpensive, simple and easy-to-use, multiple-container trigger sprayer which can discharge fluids from the containers based upon user-specified ratios.